Type lock for mailing galleys



June 14, 1949. R. B. ORR

TYPE LOCK FOR MAILING GALLEYS Filed Oct. 31, 1947 B. Orr,

IN V EN TOR.

al h Patented June 14, 1949 lJ-N I'TED STATES PATENT QFF'ICEEarvrnznoonnon GALLEYS lltalphiB.@rnloganspora-llnd. Applioation otober31, 1947,?s'eria1-No. 783267 rclaims. (crwzve m This invention :relatesgenerally 'to the art of :typesetting, -and has for its principal objectthe provision 'of :a :locking device for type matter stored in galleys.Certain specific :fe'atures rof my device :m'ake 1it:particularlyadaptable :to the locking :of :type matter 'in so-called mailing galleysthat is, type matter consisting 1 of the names and addressesrofsubscribers-to a newspaper, for :example. IMatter-of this type isgenerally stored more or :less :permanently in relatively narrow galleysWithin which the slugs or pieces of type remain-unchanged .over longperiods, but in-which corrections, changes -'ofraddress or the like mustoccasionally :be made.

It .is, therefore, alsoran'object-of the invention l 'to provideaig-alley lock or the general type indicated above which will firmly"retain within "a fgalley pieces of typ'e matter 'of the "abovedescription, more particularly :in the form :of individual lineunits:or:slugs,:but which swilll'be'capa ble of :yieldimg sufllciently.to 1 enable one or :more slugs to I be removed afrom the i'asseniblyand replaced byzone or more =.corrected slugs, without requiring anyrepositioning ofthe locking'device.

41am well aware that .it :has Ioften' been proposed to provide fa galleyend-Jock for type :matter to replace the usual cumbersome weights 'orother :furniture used to fill out vacant space in galleys. Some ofthese, indeed, have utilized strips of resilient nraterial inorder toretain the lockingdevice .in position by endwise pressure againstside-walls of the galley, but in all such cases, so far as I am aware,the purpose, intent and effect dfsuch locks has been to achieve absoluterigidit in the direction of the lengthof the:g a]ley. The use of suchJocks thus inhibits the @making of changes or corrections except byremoving the locking device, and hence renders them impractical for usein galleys of the type with which I am principally concerned.

A further object of the invention is to' provide a structure having theabove advantages but which can be manufactured at a very low cost, andwhich is simple and foolproof in operation. Also, a preferredconstruction herein to be disclosed provides for reversabilitv of theassembly for the most efiicient use thereof by persons who are eitherright or left-handed.

My invention completely eliminates the need for reglets or blocks oftenused to clamp in place type matter in galleys, and provides for acontinuous variation in adjustment to accommodate any length of columnwithout necessitating the tedious insertion of properly dimensionedblocks, the use of thumb screw clamps or the like ex- 2 pedientsheretofore employed for this general purpose.

Theabo'veaan'd other object's and advantages -"o'f the invention willbest be understood ,by reference to the following detailed "descriptionof "a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conned tion with theaccompanying drawirigs, in which:

"Fig. "1 is a perspective view-of a mailing galley containing 'a numbero'i-slugs'of type matter held in place by one embodiment ofthe'invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a rock in accordanc with the invention,

Fig. 3 is "an elevation thereof,

Fig. 4' 1s-asecnona1 vie-w'taken along line or Fig. *2,"a n"d 'FigJEiSapartial plan view Q'fthestruc'tureof Fig. 1, showing the manner 'o'fremoval of a type slug.

Referringnow *to Fig. 1 *of the drawing, there 'is illustrated a"mailing galley f0 comprisingan elongated rectangular container havingparallel Side walls ['2 and H1, and containing a plurality of slugs T5of type "matter, such as names and addresses of subscribers to apublication. The mailing galley Ill, as is usual in this art, 'is narrower than galle'ys used for "ordinary "columnar matter, and maypreferably have a width-of about 2 inches, whereas '-a standardsizesinglecolumn 'galleywould have a widthbi three inches, a twocolumnalley'five inch-es, andso'on. 'Moreover, the mailing "galley I'll is"usually if not always closed at both ends, whereas the other standardgalleys "are open at one end.

Theimproved galley lock in accordance with my inventionisillustratedinFigs. 1 to 4 as com:- prising athiri'jt s'tiff len'gth"l8 of resilient m'aterial, such as spring steel, which in its normal orunstressed condition is bowed along a major portion of its length, forexample on an arc having a radius of about 3 inches. At one end,however, which is the right end in Fig. 1, a minor portion 20 of thelength of the strip I8 is reverselv bent so as to extend at an angle ofabout 20 to the eneral direction of the strip i8.

and the end slug of type in the galley, there is secured to strip I8,approximately at its midpoint, a relatively rigid and unyielding bar orcontact piece 22 here shown as a slightly dished piece of metal in orderto provide spaced contact points on the end slug. Bar or piece 22 ispreferably slidably secured to strip I 8 as by being riveted to a clip24 whose ends are folded about the upper and lower edges of the strip,and bar 22 is dimensioned so as to slide freely within the walls l2 and[4 of the galley I when the locking device is inserted, whereby tocontact and press upon the end slug without interference from the walls.The purpose of making clip 24; slidable on strip I8 is to permit the bar22 to be assembled with minor portion 2!] of the strip i8 lying ateither end of the assembly, for greater convenience of users who may beleft-handed.

In use, the locking device is simply slid up against the end slug oftype with sufficient pressure to wedge it firmly in place between thegalley side walls, whereupon it will secure the type slugs firmly in anupright printing position from which they will not be dislodged by anynormal or even rough handling. Thus the use of reglets or wooden ormetal blocks to fill out the galley, or thumb screws or the like at theend of the galley is rendered unnecessary, and at the same time muchgreater convenience and speed in locking the type is accomplished.

When it is desired to replace a line or slug, for example to change aname or address, it is unnecessary to release the lock. A make-up rule26 or similar thin rigid tool is merely applied at the end of the slug,and by prying up the old slug is removed and the new one inserted, whilethe locking device springs lengthwise of the galley sumciently to permitthis action. When the makeup rule is removed, the lock springs back andforces the type back into place ready for use.

If circumstances require the removal of one or more slugs, or theaddition of any, the lock is released by inserting a makeup rule or thelike behind the curved end of the strip l8 and exerting pressure,whereupon the lock may be removed, the type slugs changed, and the lockreplaced as described above.

Since the parts of my improved lock are few and simple, the device canbe manufactured at low cost, and will permit substantial savings in timeand effort in handling mailing-galley matter of this kind.

Having disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, I wish it to beunderstood that changes and alterations may be made in the specificstructure chosen for illustration without 4 departing from the spirit ofmy invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A resilient end lock for supporting type matter within a mailinggalley having substantially parallel side walls, comprising a stiffresilient strip of material shaped to provide a major portion of itslength bowed in one direction longitudinally of the strip, a minorportion adjacent one end being reversely bowed for a short dis tance toprovide galley-wall contacting end portions of said strip directed inopposite directions when the strip is wedged between side walls of agalley, and a rigid type-contacting member of less length than saidstrip affixed to the strip only adjacent approximately the center of thestrip and lying on the convex side of said major portion, said stripbeing sufilciently stiff to maintain said lock abutted firmly againsttype matter in said galley, but sufliciently resilient in a directionlengthwise of said galley to enable a line of type matter to be removedand replaced without disturbing the locking engagement between saidstrip and said walls.

2. A resilient end lock for supporting type matter within a galley ofthe type having substantially parallel side walls, comprising a stiffresilient strip of material bowed for a major portion of its length inone direction, and bent in the opposite direction for a minor portion ofits length and a rigid type-contacting member removably secured to saidstrip only adjacent approximately the center of the strip on the convexside of the major portion thereof.

3. A galley lock for type galleys comprising a springy member normallybowed along most of its length in one sense and .bowed at one end in areverse sense, and normally having an overall length slightly in excessof the width of a galley with which it is to be used, whereby saidmember when wedged between walls of a galley is held against bodilymovement but may be flexed longitudinally of said galley at anintermediate portion of its length.

4. The invention of claim 3, and a rigid typecontacting bar connected tosaid member intermediate its length.

RALPH B. ORR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,015,257 Antelotti Jan. 16, 19122,173,728 Riehl Sept. 19, 1939

